Just as change is a certainty in business, IQ managers operate in a climate of continuous change. The question is: will people successfully adjust to these changes or be overwhelmed by them and take performance and productivity with them? CONNECT’s Jed Summerton and Maureen Clarry shared a model for managing change that optimizes productivity in information quality initiatives, strategies for increasing productivity and reducing fear in information quality initiatives, and keys to maintaining productivity

Maureen Clarry and Lorna Rickard of CONNECT presented at Vectra Bank’s Business for Breakfast seminar series on September 18, 2007. Their presentation cut through the rhetoric that surrounds “corporate culture” by describing a research-based tool that is used to measure and manage organizational culture. It is based on decades of scientific study at the University of Michigan. The tool demonstrates the link between culture and bottom-line business performance, including such measures as return on investment (ROI); return on assets (ROA); sales growth; quality; and employee satisfaction.

Today many executives understand that creating a high-performance organizational culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage. Lou Gerstner, CEO of IBM from 1993-2002, summarizes this important point: “I came to see in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game – it IS the game. In the end, an organization is no more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.”

Maureen Clarry of CONNECT: The Knowledge Network presented at the Ownership Thinking Conference on September 14 - 15, 2007, at the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center. Maureen Clarry presented to business owners and senior managers coaching them how to build partnerships in lateral relationships with their peers and create exciting new synergies. She also gave insight as to how business professionals address issues systemically rather than personally.

PMI Mile Hi Chapter, PMI Loveland Chapter, and PMI Pikes Peak Regional Chapter hosted CONNECT’s Maureen Clarry to coach project managers on “Managing Accountability for Project Success.” Maureen shared insights on how to recognize types of accountability, a model for managing tension that optimizes productivity, and strategies for creating accountability.”